Yet another roundup of a) dumb b) ironic, c) scary and/or d) telling things said by or around the President lately, from
GPOAccess's weekly compilation of presidential documents (Week ending Feb. 14th, 2005)
(below the fold)
From yet another tightly scripted
"town hall meeting" about Social Security in Tampa, Florida, 2/4/05.
We're headed toward peace, and that's important. We're still at war. I wish I could report to the Nation, during my State of the Nation and here in Florida, that the war is over. It's not--there's still an enemy that cannot stand America, that still wants to inflict harm on our people precisely because we refuse to relent in our love for freedom.
Too bad we're not going after that freedom-hating enemy because we're still stuck in Iraq. Oops.
You'd think he'd remember that it was the State of the Union address, not the State of the Nation. After all, he has given five of them. I know, I'm a nitpicker.
First, I want to thank the troops and their families for helping us stay on the offensive against the terrorists and the haters.
Message to Osama bin Laden: Don't be a hater.
And I believe generations of Americans to come will appreciate the fact that this generation not only stood strong in the face of a Saddam Hussein but stuck it out and helped the Iraqi people develop a democracy. Democracies lead to peace. And we have a duty to help this world become more free so our children and grandchildren can grow up in a peaceful world.
We have a duty to make sure there's a retirement system for our children too. And that's what I want to talk about.
Oooo, bitchin' transition! Must... equate... War on Terror... with... War on Social Security... buh...
So to give you an example, in 2027, the system will be $200 billion short. In other words, they collect X amount of payroll taxes, but because baby boomers like me are living longer and have been promised greater benefits, we're $200 billion short that year--that year. And the next year is bigger than 200 billion. In 3037, it's like 300 billion.
Who will save Social Security for Fry and Leela?
Once people recognize there's a little bit of denial in Washington-- they'll say there's not a problem. There's a fair number of people who say, ``It isn't a problem.'' If that's the prevailing view, nothing is going to happen. I fully recognize that. So step one is to say we have a problem.
Step Two: Come to believe that a power greater than ourselves (the Republican Party) can restore us to sanity.
Step Three: Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of George Bush.
etc. etc.
These Social Security town hall meetings all follow the same basic form:
- Speecifyin'. Bush talks about high-minded ideals like liberty and winnin' the War on Terror and how every person wants freedom in his soul, etc.
- A sharp transition to Social Security.
- Someone with academic credentials comes out (probably dressed in a white lab coat) to praise Social Security privatization or tell everyone how doomed Social Security is.
- Pre-screened audience members tell heartwarming stories about their loved ones, and how private accounts will help them.
- Bush will respond to everyone with "Good job" or "You did a nice job there." Really, even the economics professor gets a pat on the back.
- Softball questions from the audience, usually prefaced with "God bless you, Mr. President" or something very like it. (again, true)
- Bush will initially respond to every question with "I appreciate that question." He does this to the media, too.
- Bush tells everyone he'd love to stay (feel the love in the room!) but he has to go to dinner / get to another state to hawk his crappy plan / git on back to Washington (boo!).
I'm starting to understand why the media and the public in general give him such a break. He goes out of his way to compliment everyone, all the time. An example from an
exchange with reporters, 2/7/05:
Q. Thank you, sir. How hard is it going to be to get Congress to go along with your budget when it cuts some popular programs that Congress has refused to go along with in the past?
The President. Well, that's a great question.
Good job! Good boy! Want a treat? He does this
all the time, and usually the reporter seems to think:
Well, he didn't actually answer the question, but since he told me what a good question it was, I shouldn't really ask a follow-up.
That's it for now. I bet Europe is going to provide us with some gems, though. Same time next week.